20120602
AFP
Leaders of every political party in Lesotho said in a joint statement Friday they had accepted the outcome of last week's closely fought parliamentary election.

"We hereby state our acceptance of the results of the National Assembly election conducted on 26 May 2012," said a statement signed by the leaders .

Prime Minister Pakhalita Mosisili's vice Monyane Molekeki signed on behalf of the Democratic Congress (DC). International observers have already declared last week's elections free and fair.

Mosisili's Democratic Congress failed to win enough votes to form a government in last week's election.

That allowed the opposition to form a coalition to oust him from power after 14 years after what was the closely fought election in the history of the tiny mountainous kingdom.

The 1998 election that brought Mosisili to power sparked a violent reaction from the opposition, which in turn prompted military intervention from South Africa to restore order.

The new administration will be the first time the constitutional monarchy has been ruled by a coalition government.

The new parliament convenes on Wednesday.